WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Federal prosecutors made an unannounced visit this week to a at Federal Reserve headquarters that is the focus of an investigation into a , according to two people familiar with the visit.
Two prosecutors and an investigator from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro鈥檚 office were turned away on Tuesday by a building contractor and referred to Fed attorneys, one of the people said. The two people familiar with the visit spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren鈥檛 authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation.
The visit underscores that the Trump administration is not backing down from its investigation of the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, even though the probe has delayed the confirmation of a new chair by President Donald Trump. The investigation is focused on cost overruns and brief testimony about the project last summer by Powell. Trump confirmed in an interview that aired Wednesday on Fox Business that he wants to continue the probe.
Last month, during a closed-door hearing before a federal judge, a that they hadn鈥檛 found any evidence of a crime in their investigation of the headquarters project.
Robert Hur, an attorney for the Federal Reserve board of governors, sent an email to Pirro鈥檚 prosecutors about their visit and their request for a 鈥渢our鈥� to 鈥渃heck on progress鈥� at the construction site. Hur鈥檚 email, which The Associated Press has viewed, noted that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that their interest in the Federal Reserve鈥檚 renovation project was 鈥減retextual.鈥�
鈥淪hould you wish to challenge that finding, the courts provide an avenue for you; it is not appropriate for you to try to circumvent it,鈥� Hur wrote.
Republican Tillis is key vote
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to vote against , Trump’s nominee to replace Powell as Fed chair, until the investigation is dropped. With the committee closely divided on partisan lines, Tillis’ opposition is enough to block Warsh.
The Banking panel said yesterday that it will hold a hearing on Warsh’s nomination April 21. Powell’s term as Fed chair ends May 15, but Powell said last month he would remain as chair until a replacement is named.
Powell is serving a separate term as a member of the Fed’s governing board that lasts until January 2028. Chairs typically leave their posts as governor when their terms as chair end, but they can remain on the board if they choose.
Last month, Powell said, 鈥淚 have no intention of leaving the Board until the investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.鈥� If he remains in his seat, even after Warsh is confirmed, it would deny Trump the oppotunity to fill a seat on the seven-member board.
Late Tuesday Tillis to The Wall Street Journal鈥檚 article on the visit below an image of the Three Stooges and wrote, 鈥淭he U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office for D.C. at the crime scene.鈥�
Investigation centers on building renovations
The investigation by Pirro鈥檚 office centers on an appearance by Powell before the Senate Banking Committee last June, when he was asked about cost overruns on the Fed鈥檚 extensive building renovations. The most recent estimates from the Fed suggest the current estimated cost of $2.5 billion is about $600 million higher than a 2022 estimate of $1.9 billion.
鈥淚t is probably corrupt, but what it really is, is incompetent,鈥� Trump said on Fox Business. 鈥淒on’t you think we have to find out what happened there?鈥�
The president’s support for the investigation threatens a timeframe set out by Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Banking Committee. Scott said Tuesday on Fox Business that he believed the investigation would be 鈥渨rapped up in the next few weeks,鈥� allowing Warsh to be confirmed soon after.
Threat to fire Powell
News of the unannounced visit by prosecutors comes as Trump has again threatened to fire Powell, if the Federal Reserve Chair decides to stay on the central bank’s governing board after his term as chair expires next month.
鈥淲ell then I鈥檒l have to fire him, OK?鈥� Trump said when reminded that Powell has said he won鈥檛 leave the Fed while the Justice Department investigates a $2.5 billion renovation project at the bank. Powell has also said he will remain as chair of the Fed’s rate-setting committee until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, following the precedent of previous chairs.
Trump has wanted to remove Powell as chair of the Fed, saying he has been too slow in orchestrating interest rate cuts that would give the U.S. economy a quick boost. Powell has said the investigation is a .
Powell’s term as Fed governor expires May 15, but his term as a Fed board member lasts until January 2028.
Supreme Court weighing another Trump removal
Trump鈥檚 threat to fire Powell comes as the Supreme Court is weighing the president鈥檚 effort to remove another central bank governor, Lisa Cook. Lower courts have so far allowed Cook to remain in her job while her legal challenge to the firing continues. The Supreme Court also seemed likely to keep her on the Fed when the court heard arguments in January. A decision could come any time.
The issue in Cook鈥檚 case is whether allegations of mortgage fraud, which she has denied, is a sufficient reason to fire her or a mere pretext masking Trump鈥檚 desire to exert more control over U.S. interest rate policy.
The Supreme Court has allowed the firings of the heads of other governmental agencies at the president鈥檚 discretion, with no claim that they did anything wrong, while also , calling the Fed 鈥渁 uniquely structured, quasi-private entity.鈥�
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AP Writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
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